Knight Vision
by Glissa Sunseeker
Summary: Ever wondered who the last lady knight before Alanna was? Meet Caspian of Nicharon.


A/N: I hope y'all like this story, it's meant for entertainment purposes only, not for serious... real... stuff. Disclaimer: Look at me! I own nothing! WOO!  
  
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Caspian stood next to the castle road, looking out over the city as dusk fell. Corus was beautiful, as always, but the landscape held special meaning for her tonight.  
If what she as going to do worked out, she would never see the city as Lady Caspian again.  
Caspian of Nicharon was not even fourteen, but she had long ago decided the only life for her was that of a knight.  
She didn't care that there had only been four lady knights in the past century, she didn't care that her mother wanted her to grow up to be a lady. She didn't care that Nicharon was an obscure fief that hardly anyone had heard of it, she was going to be a knight.  
Whether her mother agreed or not.  
  
To an onlooker, the girl by the roadside would hardly have been worthy of notice. Her clothes were simple commoner's clothes, her face not picturesque, her stance not noble and defiant.  
In fact, she looked a little worn out and like she had been working to hard for all of her life.  
Caspian's life had been a hard one. Her fief was unknown and tiny, though her family was Book of Silver. The size of Nicharon had been cut down violently by attacks from both Galla and Scanra. But she was a daughter of the lord, and as such, expected to protect her people. Caspian had been an archer since she was eight, and but had never had the chance to learn a sword.  
She knew that in most of Tortall, the women did not fight, they stayed home. But she had no brothers, there was no one else to fight but her and her sisters. Leila and Rannani weren't the warrior type - Leila was much better with a needle and, while unorthodox, Rannani's skill with numbers had earned her the place of chief clerk in her father's household.  
"At least I know she won't cheat me," her father had joked when he assigned that position.  
Caspian smiled in memory as the last dying rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon. But when darkness began to settle over the city, she started worrying. Fiethe, her father's most trusted guard and her escort to the royal city, should have been back by now. He had made her promise to be there as the sun set. Too late, she realized she should have made him do the same.  
A lone figure ran towards her, and Caspian stiffened, hands reaching automatically for the dagger at her belt. Then a face came into view, and she relaxed.  
"Lady-- Caspian-- I'm sorry-- I'm so late--" he wheezed, and Caspian smiled again. "Don't worry, Fiethe, no harm done," she chirped in what the guard referred to as her "too-happy" voice, which irritated him to no end.  
"Shut up, my lady," he informed her, and together they walked up the path, the shorter Caspian almost running to keep up.  
  
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After explaining to a maid that Caspian was noble and they had better get up to the Duke's office soon at least five times, they had finally been escorted to the Hallway Outside of the Duke of Naxen's Office, while several servants explained to the Duke that Caspian had threatened them many times with punishments that invariably ended with the maid/manservant being given to wild Scanran hordes attacking Nicharon. After several minutes of waiting, the door opened, and Caspian swept in, hissing, "I know your name," to the servants.  
The Duke eyed her oddly -- it wasn't everyday that young commoner women demanded to see him.  
"Your grace," murmured Fiethe, bowing, while Cas shook out her mane of golden-brown hair.  
"I am Lady Caspian of Nicharon, and I am not pleased with the way the palace servants have treated me, your grace," she began, not bowing or curtsying. The Duke tried to say something, but Cas continued without pause, "I have come to apply to train as a knight, and my welcome so far has been most unsatisfactory."  
The Duke looked shocked at Caspian's statement, while Fiethe looked amused. She was not one for lady-like behaviour, but it appeared some of her sisters' had rubbed off on her.  
"You want to be a knight?"  
Caspian nodded.  
"You want to be a knight."  
Another nod.  
"You want to be a knight."  
"Your grace, I think we have established that I want to be a knight."  
Once again, the shocked look on the Duke's face sent Fiethe into bursts of laughter. He was going to have to get used to Cas' blunt manner -- except when she played at being a lady.  
Once he recovered, the Duke asked, "Can you fight?" Caspian nodded. "Will you work hard?" Again, Cas nodded. The Duke tapped his fingers idly, clearly trying to think of something else to keep this Lady Caspian back. His face lighted with triumph at the same moment Fiethe grabbed Cas's father's papers saying she had her father's permission. He handed the to the Duke, whose face darkened as he read. Finally, he looked up and told them, "She may go. A servant will lead you to your quarters. We have no clothes fitted for you; someone will come tomorrow to take measurements. You are to be up at six-thirty sharp." He scowled at his desk.  
Cas smiled. No problems so far.  
  
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